Liège - Bastogne - Liège 2025, 27th April

[Lequack]

All cycling coverage should be in Spanish

https://twitter.com/x/status/1916550369284440161

View: https://x.com/mario_sabato/status/1916550369284440161

 

[E_F_]

I still think the race might be better off without Redoute and RaF...

edit: idunno...

Redoute & RaF :'(

55.2 km, +1069 m. Bike ride in Luik, Wallonië

ridewithgps.com

 

[Gigs_98]

Yeah I agree with the overall sentiment of how the route would have to be changed. There are some climbs to make the race very hard right before La Redoute if the route was drastically changed. Do that and make the race after La Redoute easier (which is to say, ditch RaF) and I think the races right now would be much better. I do agree Pogi would still easily win but I don't agree that "this wouldn't change anything as long as Pog is around". If you gave teams climbs to work with they would at least try to anticipate the eventual Pog attack. Right now there is just almost no way to start the finale before La Redoute and then that is late enough for Pogacar or Remco to immediately seal the deal.

I think the outcome with a harder section before La Redoute would look more like the peloton helplessly trying to anticipate MvdPs attack in the Ronde last year. That was not a good race at all but it would still be way better than the last three LBL editions. Also the current route isn't even good without a dominant rider to attack on La Redoute. What happened before was a waiting game for RaF and I think in a more evenly matched peloton that would still be the most likely outcome.

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

I still think the race might be better off without Redoute and RaF...

edit: idunno...

Redoute & RaF :'(

55.2 km, +1069 m. Bike ride in Luik, Wallonië

ridewithgps.com

Well with RaF and Tilmann as a combo with 14k to go from the summit of Tilmann, followed by another 4-7% climb with +100hm and exhausted riders by that point (+all those +50hm/7% ramps between Redoute and RaF), I think you have just given Pogi an even bigger gift

Edit: I agree on @Gigs_98's POV of making the route more friendly for attacks way before Redoute, however not with a festival of long hard climbs as Mont-Le-Soie since it all adds up to total hight meters suiting Pogi in the end, but instead a myriad of shorter ramps, if possible in the terrain.

 

[E_F_]

Well with RaF and Tilmann as a combo with 14k to go from the summit of Tilmann, followed by another 4-7% climb with +100hm and exhausted riders by that point (+all those +50hm/7% ramps between Redoute and RaF), I think you have just given Pogi an even bigger gift

Yeah, probably... It's certainly not my favourite idea. At the moment that's this one:

lbl stockeu circuit theux forges

144.9 km, +2452 m. Bike ride in Bastenaken, Wallonië

ridewithgps.com

With the true classic finale of Mont Theux and Cote des Forges, preceded by a bunch of the really steep climbs around Stavelot and then a mix of false flat uphill and short climbs up to Malchamps including a good F1 history lesson. I suppose the risk here is that Pogacar does go full Merckx and solos away with 60km to go.

 

[Filippo_3467]

I'd say that it's only yesterday you could say so. In MSR, they didn't ride on the front. In De Ronde, Mads didn't pull for a while when in the front group. In PR, Mads might have had just as big of a chance as Mathieu and certainly bigger than Pogacar, but he punctured.

I think it's fair to say defeatism but I don't think it's necessary a bad thing. You could also say they are riding smart within their means. I think pedersen didn'trode the Ronde and Paris-Roubaix like a rider that wants to maximize the TEAM chances of winning. Also Skjelmose rode for 3rd place in Amstel and lucked out. They had no plan yesterday to even try and do something against Pogacar. I call that defeatist as a big budget teams with so many great riders. other say they are one of the only teams that at least have a sound plan to get 2nd or 3rd. Both I think is right. I'm just that harsh because it sucks at the moment if you are a fan like me that started watching bike racing because of the tactics and interesting racing. I literally don't care if Merchx or Pogi is the greatest and how much watts they are putting out or what history is now possible... I just want to be entertained if I watch 3-4 hours of cycling on a free sunday. Therefore Lidl tactics are bad for me, for them they are working quite well.

 

[tobydawq]

I think it's fair to say defeatism but I don't think it's necessary a bad thing. You could also say they are riding smart within their means. I think pedersen didn'trode the Ronde and Paris-Roubaix like a rider that wants to maximize the TEAM chances of winning. Also Skjelmose rode for 3rd place in Amstel and lucked out. They had no plan yesterday to even try and do something against Pogacar. I call that defeatist as a big budget teams with so many great riders. other say they are one of the only teams that at least have a sound plan to get 2nd or 3rd. Both I think is right. I'm just that harsh because it sucks at the moment if you are a fan like me that started watching bike racing because of the tactics and interesting racing. I literally don't care if Merchx or Pogi is the greatest and how much watts they are putting out or what history is now possible... I just want to be entertained if I watch 3-4 hours of cycling on a free sunday. Therefore Lidl tactics are bad for me, for them they are working quite well.

I won't give you Roubaix. Flanders maybe, but he did not pull as much as some people claim.

Without the puncture and with Philipsen's later evident lack of strength, Pedersen could have won that race. Don't forget he would win the sprint with 80% certainty if he finishes with Van der Poel and Pogi after a hard race.

 

[Lequack]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w-ebzgRMNg

 

[Filippo_3467]

I won't give you Roubaix. Flanders maybe, but he did not pull as much as some people claim.

Without the puncture and with Philipsen's later evident lack of strength, Pedersen could have won that race. Don't forget he would win the sprint with 80% certainty if he finishes with Van der Poel and Pogi after a hard race.

Of course it's debatable. Roubaix suits him the best, he has the trump card of a great sprint even compared to MvdP. If you look at the end result you could argue that he was ride to fully comitt to pull the gap open after Arenberg. But in the moment and for the whole race up until then Lidl raced like a team only fully backing Pedersen against the other two giants. I think in the future if they want beat an in Form MvdP in Roubaix they have to outplay him with numbers and Pedersen pulling like a mad men didn't help that but in the end with crashes and mechs no other Lild guy was in the front but you don't now that early on. Even send someone in the break. i don't think that MvdP can be beaten by Pedersen in Roubaix 1v1 on strength not bad luck. It's like Pogi in Liege with the danger (added bonus) of mechanicals.

 

[Rackham]

I won't give you Roubaix. Flanders maybe, but he did not pull as much as some people claim.

Without the puncture and with Philipsen's later evident lack of strength, Pedersen could have won that race. Don't forget he would win the sprint with 80% certainty if he finishes with Van der Poel and Pogi after a hard race.

I've seen nothing of Mads Pedersen that makes me believe he could respond on the cobbles in the final 50km of Roubaix when Van der Poel drops the hammer. It's never a question of arriving for a sprint versus MvdP and Pog. It's a question of surviving when those two up the tempo to a suffocating level and blow everyone else off their wheel.

People made the same analysis mistake before Roubaix when predicting Pog stood no chance, i.e. claiming he'd lose a sprint versus the others. Maybe but he has such a massive engine he was always going to destroy everyone who wasn't MvdP long before they all had the chance to beat him in a sprint. Including Mads Pedersen.